Prefrontal control of hypothalamic feeding circuits: Balancing executive control of eating (360G-Wellcome-209023_Z_17_Z)

It is thought that diminished or excessive control over the drive to eat witnessed in eating disorders results from under- or over-activation of prefrontal cortical (PFC) brain regions important in decision-making. To investigate the executive control over eating this project aims to link the underlying circuitry between the PFC and feeding-promoting circuits of the hypothalamus to eating. Novel circuit-mapping strategies will be implemented to determine the functional relation between the two structures. This information will set the groundwork for relating PFC and hypothalamic activity in a rodent eating disorder model that promotes under- or over-eating. By consisting of two phases, one where animals restrict their food intake, the other where they over-consume food, we will monitor and relate changes in PFC and hypothalamic activity across phases where animals exhibit distinct feeding patterns. Finally, we will attempt to normalise this under-/over-eating by manipulating prefrontal inputs to the hypothalamus, thus determining a causal role for this circuit in influencing eating. In addition to linking executive circuits with feeding circuits this project aims to provide insight into the neural mechanisms underlying maladaptive eating behaviour.